DNA binding activity of transcription factors in bronchial cells of horses with recurrent airway obstruction.

Horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) present many similarities with human asthmatics including airway inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, reversible obstruction, and increased NF-kappaB expression. Studies in experimental asthma models have shown that transcriptions factors such as activator protein-1 (AP-1), GATA-3, cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) and CAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) may also play an important role in airway inflammation. The purpose of this study was to measure DNA binding activity of these transcription factors in the airways of horses with RAO and to compare it to pulmonary function and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology. Seven horses with RAO and six control animals were studied during a moldy hay challenge and after 2 months at pasture. Pulmonary function, BALF cytology and transcription factors' activities in bronchial brushings were measured during hay and pasture exposures. During moldy hay challenge, RAO-affected horses developed severe airway obstruction and inflammation and a significantly higher airway AP-1 binding activity than in controls. After 2 months on pasture, pulmonary function and airway AP-1 binding activity were not different between RAO and control horses. The DNA binding activity of CREB in airways of RAO-affected horses increased significantly after 2 months at pasture and became higher than in controls. A significant positive correlation was detected between AP-1 binding activity and indicators of airway obstruction and inflammation. Airway GATA-3, CEBP and CREB binding activities were negatively correlated with indices of airway obstruction. However, contrarily to CREB binding activity, GATA-3 and CEBP binding activities were not different between RAO and control horses and were unaffected by changes in environment. These data support the view that AP-1 and CREB play a role in modulating airway inflammation in horses with RAO.

Effect of beclomethasone dipropionate and dexamethasone isonicotinate on lung function, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology, and transcription factor expression in airways of horses with recurrent airway obstruction.

Glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is recognized to be effective for the treatment of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in horses. Anti-inflammatory properties of GC are thought to be mediated by suppression of inflammatory gene expression via inhibition of transcription factors such as nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of low-dose inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate and injectable dexamethasone 21-isonicotinate on clinical signs, pulmonary function, airway cytology, and activity of NF-kappaB and AP-1 in bronchial cells of RAO-affected horses. Seven horses with RAO were exposed to moldy hay until they developed airway obstruction on 3 separate occasions. In a crossover design, they were then treated with a placebo (injection on day 1), inhaled beclomethasone (500 microg q12h for 10 days), or dexamethasone (0.06 mg/kg, IM on day 1) and monitored for 10 days. Pulmonary function, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology, and NF-kappaB and AP-1 activity in bronchial brushing cells were measured before (day 1) and after treatment (day 10). Treatment with beclomethasone resulted in significantly improved pulmonary function of RAO-affected horses compared with placebo and dexamethasone treatments. However, none of the treatments had an effect on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology or NF-kappaB and AP-1 activity. These findings reveal that, in a model of severe RAO, the benefits of low-dose inhaled beclomethasone on pulmonary function are not accompanied by a decrease in airway inflammatory cells or a suppression of transcription factors NF-kappaB and AP-1 DNA-binding activity.

Pro-inflammatory properties for thiazolidinediones.

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are pharmacological ligands of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma that are extensively used in the treatment of type II diabetes. Recently, an anti-inflammatory potential for TZDs has been suggested, based on observations that these compounds may inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in vitro and may attenuate the inflammatory response in vivo. Here, we show that the TZDs rosiglitazone (RSG) and troglitazone (TRO) do not inhibit the inflammatory response to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in various epithelial cell types. On the contrary, both RSG and TRO significantly potentiated TNF-alpha-induced production of granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor, interleukin (IL)-6 and/or IL-8 in these cells. This increase in pro-inflammatory cytokine expression was functionally significant as supernatants from cells co-treated with TNF-alpha and TZDs displayed increased neutrophil pro-survival activity when compared with supernatants from cells treated with TNF-alpha alone. Additionally, it was shown that TZDs enhance cytokine expression at the transcriptional level, but that the pro-inflammatory effects of TZDs are independent on PPARgamma, nuclear factor kappaB or mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. Our study shows that TZDs may potentiate the inflammatory response in epithelial cells, a previously unappreciated effect of these compounds.

Treatment of experimental asthma by decoy-mediated local inhibition of activator protein-1.

RATIONALE: Asthma is associated with increased expression of a typical array of genes involved in immune and inflammatory responses, including those encoding the prototypic Th2 cytokines interleukin (IL) 4, IL-5, and IL-13. Most of these genes contain binding sites for activator protein-1 (AP-1) within their promoter and are therefore believed to depend on AP-1 for their expression, suggesting that this transcription factor could be of particular importance in asthma pathophysiology. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the role of AP-1 in the effector phase of pulmonary allergy. METHODS: Ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice were intratracheally given decoy oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) specifically directed to AP-1 or scrambled control ODNs before challenge with aerosolized OVA. Twenty-four hours after the last OVA challenge, airway hyperresponsiveness was measured and allergic airway inflammation was evaluated quantitatively. AP-1 decoys were localized using flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. AP-1 activity in the lung was assessed using electrophoretic mobility shift assay. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Intratracheally delivered AP-1 decoys efficiently targeted airway immune cells, thus precluding AP-1 activation on OVA challenge. Decoy-mediated local inhibition of AP-1 resulted in significant attenuation of all the pathophysiologic features of experimental asthma-namely, eosinophilic airway inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness, mucous cell hyperplasia, production of allergen-specific immunoglobulins, and synthesis of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Scrambled control ODNs had no detectable effects. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal a key role for AP-1 in the effector phase of pulmonary allergy and indicate that specific AP-1 inhibition in the airways may have therapeutic value in the control of established asthma.

Evidence for a role of heat shock factor 1 in inhibition of NF-kappaB pathway during heat shock response-mediated lung protection.

Heat shock transcription factor (HSF)-1 is recognized as a central component of the heat shock response, which protects against various harmful conditions. However, the mechanisms underlying the protection and the role of HSF-1 in these mechanisms have not yet been clearly elucidated. Using HSF-1 knockout mice (Hsf1(-/-)), we examined whether heat shock response-mediated lung protection involved an inhibition of the proinflammatory pathway via an interaction between HSF-1 and NF-kappaB, in response to cadmium insult. The HSF-1-dependent protective effect against intranasal instillation of cadmium (10 and 100 microg/mouse) was demonstrated by the higher protein content (1.2- and 1.4-fold), macrophage (1.6- and 1.9-fold), and neutrophil (2.6- and 1.8-fold) number in bronchoalveolar fluids, higher lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, and more severe lung damage evaluated by histopathology in Hsf1(-/-) compared with wild-type animals. These responses were associated with higher granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF; 1.7-fold) but not TNF-alpha concentrations in bronchoalveolar fluids of Hsf1(-/-) mice compared with those of wild-type animals, indicating that HSF-1 behaved as a repressor of specific cytokine production in our model. To further investigate the mechanism of GM-CSF repression, we analyzed the NF-kappaB activity and IkappaB stability. The DNA binding NF-kappaB activity, in particular p50 homodimer activity, was higher in Hsf1(-/-) mice than in wild-type mice after cadmium exposure. These results provide a first line of evidence that mechanisms of lung protection depending on HSF-1 involve specific cytokine repression via inhibition of NF-kappaB activation in vivo.

A proinflammatory role for the cyclopentenone prostaglandins at low micromolar concentrations: oxidative stress-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation without NF-kappa B inhibition.

An anti-inflammatory role and therapeutic potential for cyclopentenone PGs (cyPGs) has been suggested, based on observations that levels of cyPGs in exudates increase during the resolution phase of inflammation, and that exogenous cyPGs may attenuate the inflammatory response in vivo and in vitro mainly through inhibition of NF-kappaB, a critical activator of inflammatory gene expression. However, exogenous cyPGs inhibit NF-kappaB only at concentrations substantially higher than those of endogenous cyPGs present in inflammatory fluids, thus challenging the hypothesis that cyPGs are naturally occurring inhibitors of inflammation and suggesting that cyPGs at low concentrations might have previously unappreciated effects. In this study, using various cell types, we report that cyPGs, when used at concentrations substantially lower than required for NF-kappaB inhibition (viz, low micromolar concentrations), significantly potentiate the inflammatory response to TNF-alpha. At these concentrations, cyPGs induce production of reactive oxygen species, thereby synergizing with TNF-alpha to activate the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, an activation which in turn potentiates proinflammatory cytokine expression at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Our study establishes a proinflammatory role for cyPGs at low micromolar concentrations, raises the possibility that cyPGs do not act as physiologic anti-inflammatory mediators, and questions the therapeutic potential of these compounds.